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Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts will have huge part to play in 'Iron Man 3,' says Marvel Studios head

Gwyneth Paltrow's 'Iron Man 3' character Pepper Potts is going to be 'the one thing that matters most' to Tony, says Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, 'and that actually is what the entire movie鈥檚 about.' Gwyneth Paltrow has also starred in 'Country Strong' and 'Contagion.'

To say that will have plenty of cooks in the kitchen is an understatement. We get a darker, recovering from a near-death experience; a bent on destroying the billionaire hero; and a bigger role for (Don Cheadle). Oh, and .

That many side characters might usually relegate the relatively well-established relationship between Tony Stark and (Gwyneth Paltrow) to comedic relief or classic 鈥榙amsel in distress鈥� plot devices. But according to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, Pepper won鈥檛 be getting less screen time at all; in many ways, Pepper Potts is who Iron Man 3 is all about.聽

A more important role for the scarlet-haired character is nothing new to fans of the comic books, as Pepper eventually received her own RESCUE armor with which to protect the innocent. Even if the movies have largely strayed from the source material in regards to Pepper and, say, Tony鈥檚 bodyguard (Jon Favreau), the die-hard fans know that the potential for more development has always been present.

When speaking with , Feige opened up about what聽Iron Man 3 will bring for Potts and how the oft-used convention of a 鈥榣ove triangle,鈥� despite the added actresses to the cast, will have more to do with Tony鈥檚 armor than his heart:

鈥淭he love triangle in this movie is really between Tony, Pepper and the suits. Tony, Pepper and his obsession with those suits, and the obsession with technology. And, it鈥檚 sort of unique for a big superhero summer blockbuster franchise to have that kind of layers.

鈥淵es, there鈥檚 a bad guy. Yes, the stakes are very, very high鈥搕he President of the United States is in danger. Air Force One is attacked. There are big stakes to this movie. But the real stakes are, is Tony going to be able to set aside the obsession to spend all day, every day in that workshop, tinkering with the suits in order to focus on, as he says in the trailer, the one thing that matters most 鈥� Pepper. And that actually is what the entire movie鈥檚 about.鈥�

Feige鈥檚 comments , who previously explained that Tony鈥檚 reliance on his armor would be a major point of contention in his and Pepper鈥檚 relationship. It may not be the only one, either. The impact that Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) will have 鈥� beyond 鈥� isn鈥檛 clear just yet, but Feige has hinted that that he doesn鈥檛 with Pepper.

All of that comes in addition to a telling shot from , showing seeming to force herself onto a surprised Stark. Now that , we only have more questions about what that scene might entail. We knew Tony would be dealing with this time around, and it鈥檚 seeming more and more like the number of women in his life may increase to match.

New love interests may be coming into Tony鈥檚 life, but the past films (and ) have shown that Pepper isn鈥檛 the kind of girl to back down from a fight. That resolve and determination make her a poor fit for a 鈥榙amsel in distress,鈥� even if the trailers have shown . Feige explains what a female character that strong brings to the story:

鈥淚 will tell you this. In this movie we play with the convention of the damsel in distress. We are bored by the damsel in distress. But, sometimes we need our hero to be desperate enough in fighting for something other than just his own life. So, there is fun to be had with 鈥淚s Pepper in danger or is Pepper the savior?鈥� over the course of this movie.

鈥淚n terms of where we go with future movies, we鈥檒l see. In the comic books she does get a taste for the suit and becomes her own hero named Rescue, who doesn鈥檛 necessarily battle other people, but is on missions to help people and to save people. Will we do that down the line with Gwyneth Paltrow? Who knows. But her being in the suit is something we have been playing with since Iron Man 2, where we did some designs and it didn鈥檛 end up fitting in that movie. But [the idea] is something that we鈥檙e certainly interested in.鈥漌e don鈥檛 yet know how Pepper鈥檚 relationship with Tony鈥檚 armor will impact the series as a whole, but Marvel and Black have teased that . Nothing will be set in stone until fans see the movie for themselves, but it鈥檚 obvious that plenty more stories could be written about Stark and his surrounding associates 鈥� .

What do you think of the story arc being set up for Pepper Potts? Is this a twist you鈥檝e been waiting to see since the beginning, or would Pepper suiting up feel more like a gimmick than a true evolution? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Andrew Dyce blogs at .